Eni, BP To Build Egyptian LNG Facility

Italy’s Eni and BP Amoco have reached an agreement to build a natural gas liquefaction plant in Egypt, according to an Eni source on March 21st.

Italy’s Eni and BP Amoco have reached an agreement to build a natural gas liquefaction plant in Egypt, according to an Eni source on March 21st.

He indicated that the company would issue a formal statement giving details of the project and declined to comment on reports that the project would require investment of $2.5 billion.

Eni and BP plan to build the liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in the Egyptian port city of Damietta, with the project 45 percent owned each by Eni and BP and the remainder held by Egyptian Petroleum.

The initial exports are intended for Mediterranean markets, particularly Spain.

Once the project reaches completion, the liquefied gas could be transported to BP’s receiving terminal in the U.S., where both the demand and the price of gas have been rising much faster than in Europe.

The project will include the construction of two LNG production trains, each having a production capacity of 4 billion cubic meters of gas a year. The first train should cost less than $1 billion and is due for completion by the end of 2004.